Knowledge Bank’s monthly criteria index has revealed that in November ‘furloughed workers’ returned to the top five most searched terms by brokers in the residential mortgage market. The searches surged, as a result of the Chancellor announcing an extension to the job support scheme on 5 November. There were over 30 updates to criteria in two days recorded by Knowledge Bank in its ‘Furloughed Workers’ category.

For the first time in over a year the term ‘Soft footprint at Decision in Principal (DiP) stage’ was among the top five most searched for criteria by brokers. In the rest of the top five residential searches, interest continued in the Help to Buy scheme. The scheme has appeared in the top five searches every month since April.

In the buy-to-let market the trend for investing in property continued as ‘First-time Landlords’ was the top searched term for the third month in a row. The second highest searched buy-to-let term was ‘Lending to Limited Companies’. This trend is as a result of measures from 2015 that reduced mortgage interest relief for landlords holding property in their personal names, Knowledge Bank said. In addition, ‘Holiday lets’ re-entered the top five after a month-long hiatus, potentially as a result of the second lockdown causing more interest in ‘staycations’.

In the bridging arena, for the first time ever, ‘First Time Bridgers’ entered the top five most searched for terms.

Knowledge Bank said, maximising LTV has been of interest to borrowers across the mortgage spectrum. ‘Maximum LTV / Loan to Value’ was the top searched criteria in second charges, self-build, bridging and was the second highest searched in the commercial sector.

Matthew Corker, lender relationship manager at Knowledge Bank, commented, “The only constant at the moment is change. With the furlough scheme back, discussions around an extension to the stamp duty holiday and record numbers of mortgage approvals, the property sector continues to move at a rapid pace.

“Some trends are continuing, with max LTVs again being a hot topic. Lenders are responding and in November, many LTVs were gradually increased back to pre-Covid levels. However, an increase in new broker searches such as soft footprint DiP and ‘First Time Bridgers’ shows how the market is constantly changing.

“Lenders are constantly adapting criteria to keep up with the evolving market. It is now physically impossible for any mortgage broker to keep all the different criteria in their heads. So, it is now more important than ever for brokers to use a comprehensive criteria search system to ensure they can provide their clients with best advice – and evidence that they have done so.”